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What exactly does copper do to fish? Is it a medicine or a death blow? I was considering setting up a filtration system but the only connectors at my local hardware store were copper and I felt it wouldnt be good to expose the water to raw copper. Thanks.

Scheibe

Copper is not actually much of a medicine. Copper is poisonous to all sea life, depending on concentration. The reason it can be used as a disease treatment is because fish can take more of a dose than large invertebrates, and large invertebrates can take more of a dose than microscopic ones (like parasites). That's why chelated copper is sold as an Ich medicine and a snail-killer - because it poisons those smaller creatures faster than it poisons your fish.

Large-scale aquarium plumbing jobs - like most large-scale plumbing jobs these days - would normally be done with PVC pipe. You can do smaller (and lower-pressure) jobs using plastic flexible hosing and plastic connectors.

scheibe

The answer is very simple. "It just kills them"

Keith

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